Reflective task 13

The greatest challenge facing students of modern languages is how to cope with the substantial amount of L2 reading they are expected to get through. Sadly, the failure to prepare students adequately for this task by teaching them text-attack strategies and approaches to extensive reading, means many of them simply cannot cope, and they consequently seek support and solace in English translations of key texts, whether literary, historical or socio-political. It is one of the weaknesses of foreign language teaching in much of British higher education that it does not do enough to build students' confidence in tackling longer texts by introducing practice in extensive reading on subjects students are familiar with and are interested in. The result is that increasing numbers of modern language undergraduates, especially the weaker ones, fail to do much extensive reading in L2 at all. The situation is made still worse by the modular structure of many degrees, which means that students, including almost all 'non-specialists' on institution-wide language programmes, are often not even enrolled on courses that require any substantial reading in L2.